Ok im new here. I just wanted your thoughts on what is the better purchase and why. By the way i live in England, UK. And my budget is about £10,000. I have decided to go for a diesel due to the crazy fuel prices here in england. So here are the choices:

On to your question, if the A4 comes with Quattro (AWD), I'd nab that sucker. AWD > RWD > FWD any day of the week. If not, then I'd go with the BMW. Not the most hp or torque, but certainly the classiest looking of the three.

In England, you can't get insurance on a car that has a big engine if you're a new driver? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! When I was in high school, it seemed like every other guy was driving something with a small-block of some description--all of which would be 5 liters and up. One of my buddies used to rock a 455-powered Centurion, which is something like 7.4 liters. Only made 320-ish horsepower, but over 500 lb-ft...you could take your foot off the pedals and it had so much torque that it would autocreep down the road at 35 mph! He had a Stage 1 cam lying around somewhere too, but he never did get around to installing it....

Anyway. I'd stay far away from the Audi. I've had bad experiences with Audi. I'm willing to bet the Honda would be the cheapest to maintain and the most reliable--but also a lot less nice than the BMW. But then it seems to me that a diesel BMW must hardly be worth driving, so no great loss there.

thanks for the replies. when i said these are the largest engines i can get insured on, i have actually tried contacting the insurance companies and so far all of them have declined to insure me on anything faster. also the audi is FWD, not a quattro. Also im not looking for the fastest car, but ideally it needs the best handling, reliability and a nice interior. Its got to do 0-60mph (0-100kph) in less than 10 seconds and i'll be happy. Also im not a big fan of audi interiors, IMO it looks too identical to the VW golf.

thats very true. i am going to arrange test drives when i have some free time. im not in any hurry to buy a car though, as ive got a couple more months until university starts. I like doing my research early.

If you're looking at the Audi A4 1.9TDI, don't bother. Go for a SEAT. Same build quality, better spec for your money. The Ibiza FR has the same engine and as it is slightly smaller it is much more powerful for its weight.

My car is the FR but I have the 1.8 Cupra engine in it not the TDI.

As for the insurance, it's not just the engine size you need to look at. More and more now it's the the model of car that is chosen. My car for someone under 20 costs £3,500 to insure, I now I am older my price has dorpped through the floor especially with my No Claims. I only pay £260.

Petrol is still cheaper than desiel at the moment. Unless you're going to be driving over 20,000 miles per year there is no real benifit in getting a desiel. They cost more to buy - about £2,000 more than the petrol equivalent then the added cost of the desiel, though you'll go further per litre. When I was buying my car last month the dealer was honest and steering me away from desiel as it wouldn't work out cheaper for me.

Why don't you go for a 1.2 something. The tax will be lower fuel costs lower and cheaper to buy until your insurance comes down.

Thanks for your advice. But I would personally like a classy looking car. In my opinion Audis look nicer than Seats. I also prefer the looks of saloons vs hatchbacks. its probably just a personal thing. As for insurance, for the first year or so the policy will be put under my dads name, with me as a second driver. I know its fronting, illegal, etc. but if worst comes to worst im confident that i can convince them i am an infrequent driver. Im not willing to pay out thousands of pounds on insurance, and that will be the case whatever car i choose with me as the main driver, even a 1.2 corsa. Also about the diesel vs petrol, i'm only going to be driving from 6000-8000 miles a year, so i understand when you say its not worth the extra cost of purchasing. However i am planning to keep this car for a while, 5+ years so does that make a difference??? Although i do like the revving abilities of a petrol engine. I find it quite amusing that your reccomending going for a 1.2 engine. I doubt that wwould have the power im looking for.

One of my friend's sons has recently crashed his car. It was Ford Focus ST. He is 18 and was insured under his dad's name. Why did he crash it? Too much power for a young, inexperienced driver to deal with. Now that's not the problem. The problem is the insurance. An insurance company doesn't ever want to pay out. They will find anyway they can to not. They hunted down whitness etc. to say that the son was the main driver and not the father. This means that the son was driving un-insured.

Now, the family is expected to pay for the damage to the three cars that he totalled when he lost control.

You don't need a high powered car. However, if you want one have one. I say get a small engined, small car that you can insure yourself so you can build up no claims. There is always time in later life to get a bigger engined car.

You will not keep the car for 5+ years. You will want a new one in less than 3. I would still go for petrol over desiel especially if you are only gonna do 5,000 miles a year.

Remember the bigger then engine the more that it will cost you. Not only in fuel, but servicing and the Chancellor will want more too.

SteveUK wrote:You will not keep the car for 5+ years. You will want a new one in less than 3.

+1 It was just over two years that I kept my Subie. I loved the damn thing to death, but it had some electrical issue nobody could figure out. The last owner was a bit ricer-y, so I blame him/her. I wanted a new car anyway though, but my goal was to get the same car with a stick.

lol...a Focus doesn't have that much power, come on. I agree though...I think back on how I used to drive when I first got my license and I know that if I'd had a powerful car, I would have killed myself. If the statute of limitations was up, I might even give examples.

The best car to have for a first one is something slow, practical, cheap and reliable. It should be slow so you're a little less tempted to drive recklessly, practical because that's what you're gonna need, cheap so you can afford insurance and you won't care if you do crash it, and reliable because repairs are expensive. It's like training wheels, you're only going to have it for a short while until you learn the ropes of driving, so it shouldn't be anything fancy or nice. Get a ishtbox and save your money for a couple years--then get a car you really want.

Also, I think it's a bad idea to have the insurance under your dad's name. You will crash or get pulled over--everybody does--and when it happens, you'll get screwed.